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[nial]

I think it's funny to pretend Sony studios (outside of Insomniac apparently) aren't highly mismanaged. Everything we've seen the last few years shows how Sony (and Microsoft, let's not make this a console war) has been highly mismanaged. I guess since third party f2p microtransactions keep making the numbers goes up, investors don't notice Hermen being a bad overseer and he gets to skate by unscathed. It took Sucker Punch six years to make Ghost of Tsushima from scratch. It now took them five years to make a highly iterative sequel. The same can be said for a lot of Sony's more-of-the-same sequels this generation.

Taking this long to push games out the door is just not sustainable. Sony needs to figure something out.

As long as it's not EPD Tokyo (7 years and 9 months between their new games) or Retro Studios (11 years and 9 months between their new games), it's hard to complain. Heck, Team Asobi shipped a GOTY winner in less than 3.5 years!

I mean, in the last five years they released XB1 Remaster, XB3, XB3 expansion, and XCX Remaster. You can try to downplay the remasters as a "you mean the coat of paint?" But that's a hell of a lot more than the company this thread is about released. It's not like they took fives years on this project and remastered Infamous along the way. Hell, I bet this thread wouldn't even exist if that happened.

And SP in the last five years released GoT, GoT remaster (+ Iki Island) and GoY, which sounds about right for a studio half the size.

 

[Scrawnton]

As long as it's not EPD Tokyo (7 years and 9 months between their new games) or Retro Studios (11 years and 9 months between their new games), it's hard to complain. Heck, Team Asobi shipped a GOTY winner in less than 3.5 years!

And SP in the last five years released GoT, GoT remaster (+ Iki Island) and GoY, which sounds about right for a studio half the size.

You're definitely arguing in bad faith. EPD Tokyo released Bowsers Fury in between Odyssey and Bananza, so that 7 year number is directly coming out of your ass.

Retro has crapped the bed for sure, but even then they were placed on heavy support work after their Wii U game post DKC was canned and they also remade Metroid Prime in a brand new engine in that time. No point in trying to talk to you because you're ignoring facts and just saying stuff.

Also, you keep saying Sucker Punch is half the size as Monolith. Google searches show 160 in 2020 and one result says 260 now. Monolith reported 299 in 2024 but like already mentioned they do a lot of support dev for other Nintendo games. So maybe you're pulling more numbers out of your ass.

 

[Pimpbaa]

It's a trend for Sony sequels this gen. Nintendo did it worse with TOTK. Games costing more to make even tho a lot of the work has already been done.

 

[TheGrat1]

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I noticed two things:

Yellow Paint (now white after GoW) and pockets of flowers for stealth (HZD)...More of the same!

 

[VolticArchangel]

I watched a YouTuber who had an insider from Sony telling him that sucker punch was originally working on ghost of Tsushima 2 but because of DEI initiatives

YouTubers often miss this one simple trick!

 

[{insert code here}]

Welcome to modern AAA, OP.

 

[Dragon_Rocks]

I wish they make more Infamous or Sly games.

 

[Kumomeme]

that confidence level is something else

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

After watching the Yotei reveal, I was stunned as to what did this studio worked for 5 years? What NEW features required 5 years?

Lets break it down.
Game engine and graphics? No, same engine, graphics barely evolved
AI / Physics / Fire/ Fluids simulation - No
Art style - no, this was done.
Music/OST - this can't take so many years.
Story writing - its no Godfather right? Classic revenge story.
World/missions design - done in the 1st game. This barely adds anything truly meaningful. Repetitive open world grinding.

Does motion capture, voice acting take years upon years? What seriously happened?

No Ray tracing, GTA6 and Assassins Creed Shadows have RT GI, this doesn't even have basic RT shadows. Doesn't even have the seasons system from Assassin's Creed Shadows, I bet you shadows will be the better looking game on PC when yotei releases there.

 

[Shubh_C63]

Mismanagement of studios only these past few years can be situated to GaaS push. Other than that Sony has always been very good at their portfolio/studio management.

And I suppose now that the GaaS push has been cut in half, 2 years from now it will be back pushing on all cylinders.

 

[Gameplay Gods Bless]

I guess you can discount some COVID rebound for the team...2020 still was a turbulent year...

Every recent game was affected by that tho.

 

[thelurkinghorror]

Technically is really good, but I already played a game like this, with the same stealth. the same combat, almost 122 times.

 

[nial]

You're definitely arguing in bad faith. EPD Tokyo released Bowsers Fury in between Odyssey and Bananza, so that 7 year number is directly coming out of your ass.

Okay, under that logic, please explain why you talk of Sucker Punch taking 5 years to release Ghost of Yotei when they had Iki Island in 2021.

Retro has crapped the bed for sure, but even then they were placed on heavy support work after their Wii U game post DKC was canned and they also remade Metroid Prime in a brand new engine in that time. No point in trying to talk to you because you're ignoring facts and just saying stuff.

Heavy support on what, exactly? That Wii U game that got canned was actually being worked as a Switch project, before it was ultimately scrapped in the last half of 2018 when they got appointed to work on Metroid Prime 4.
Talk me about facts, please. That's over 4 years of wasted work, and 7 years of work on le iterative sequel. Oh, and they remade Metroid Prime? Are you talking about the HEAVILY outsourced coat of paint, that was also released 9 years after Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze? Even if you line it with the Switch port of DKCTF, that's close to the timeframe between Ghost of Tsushima and Yotei.

Also, you keep saying Sucker Punch is half the size as Monolith. Google searches show 160 in 2020 and one result says 260 now. Monolith reported 299 in 2024 but like already mentioned they do a lot of support dev for other Nintendo games. So maybe you're pulling more numbers out of your ass.

160 is the only official number and it's rare for studios to grow to that size in that time, especially when SP has barely been hiring. So yes, pretty much half the size.
If we talk about pulling shit out our asses, I'm not the one who claimed that the vast majority of Monolith Soft was doing support work!

 

[ProtoByte]

They spent the 5 years marinating in The Vibe. Seriously.

Similar to Death Stranding's being a way for Kojima to indulge in the maximum extent of his excesses and Hollywood clout chasing, it seems Sucker Punch has taken the Ghost franchise as a vector for their ambassadorship to "Japanese Culture". The dedicated music section and namedropping at the end are things that are only interesting to people working at Sucker Punch and geeks who watch dev diaries.

Yotei comes off less as a focused game and more of a Samurai Media Medley project. Play with this music popularized by this anime, play in that visual mode that poorly replicates these influences that have been recycled to hell and back. You craft your Ghost of Yotei experience! Don't expect us to do it!

The actual game is last generation in every sense and even less creatively inspired than the first game.

 

[Kerotan]

It definitely doesn't look the same as the ps4 version anyway.

 

[awwr999999]

You may be on to something. Time for you to download Unreal Engine 5 or Unity for free and make your own AAA game in 7 months.

You can make a great GameBoy game in less than 7 weeks.

 

[Loboxxx]

Ladies and Gentlemen, here we have a future game designer powered by ChatGPT! super fast and optimized!!

I can't wait to see his games!!!

Fenómeno!

 

[PurePlatinum]

Your guys expectations are completely out of whack.